A Thrilling Prospect

After finishing their barbecue and beer, the four brothers were feeling good.

Zhang Tao suggested getting a massage, an idea that instantly won Gao Hu's heart.

Chen Pingsheng went along with them to the most legitimate men's spa center in Shijingshan.

It was called legitimate mostly because of the second floor.

As for the third floor, he had never been there—but halfway through the session, Gao Hu snuck up there quietly.

Liu Jing and Zhang Tao went with him.

None of them were exactly upright gentlemen.

When it was time to pay, Chen Pingsheng's bill was 268 yuan. The other three? 1,980 each.

The duration was about the same.

As for the services they received... Well, those who understand will understand.

---

The next day, Gao Hu asked Chen Pingsheng for a favor—to accompany him to a blind date arranged by his second uncle.

According to him, the woman was a teacher, young and talented.

She looked refined, wore a pair of white-framed glasses.

This time, Gao Hu was looking to improve his family's genetic lineage. That's why his uncle specifically introduced him to a teacher.

The meeting was set at a café—a common choice for intellectuals.

Chen Pingsheng drove his Aston Martin.

Compared to a convertible Bentley, the Martin was clearly more favored by men.

Gao Hu applied some foamy hair gel, carefully styling his hair into a slicked-back look.

Even in the car, he couldn't stop checking himself in the mirror.

"Old Chen, how do I look today?"

"Not bad, quite presentable."

"Man, you really don't know how to compliment someone. I put in a lot of effort today!"

Absentmindedly, he pulled out a small comb from his pocket and tidied his hair again.

Chen Pingsheng didn't hold back.

"Tiger, not to rain on your parade, but are you actually taking this blind date seriously?"

"Of course! My second uncle arranged it, and I trust his judgment. Besides, I'm not exactly a bad catch, am I?"

"Not bad, sure. But do you realize that in Beijing, having a house is the bare minimum? No matter how well you talk, if you don't have property, they won't even consider you."

"That harsh?"

"What do you think?"

Chen Pingsheng chuckled. "Back then, my ex's mother gave me the cold shoulder for six years just because I didn't own a house. If she's staying in Beijing as a teacher, her education level is already set. Given her qualifications, she's obviously looking for a man with a house."

"Goddamn it! You people are the reason housing prices are so high! Over in Shacheng, a fully furnished apartment in the city center is only five thousand per square meter. But in Beijing? Forty to fifty thousand—ten times the price!"

"Heh, it's the capital. If the housing prices weren't high, how would they drive up the national market?"

---

They soon arrived at the café.

Parking spaces were scarce, so Chen Pingsheng casually parked by the roadside, leaving it up to fate whether the traffic police would ticket him or not.

Inside, by the window, two women were already seated.

They had brought a friend along as well.

That idiot Gao Hu, the moment he arrived, immediately excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Chen Pingsheng to handle the awkward introductions alone.

He had no choice but to sit down and ask, "Have you ladies ordered yet?"

After all, meeting through a blind date was still a kind of fate. Even if things didn't work out, making friends wasn't a bad idea.

"You're the one introduced by Second Uncle?"

Before the main girl could speak, her friend chimed in.

Chen Pingsheng shook his head. "No, I'm just his friend. He just went to the restroom."

"Oh. I heard he didn't even finish middle school?"

The friend was doing the screening, cutting straight to the chase.

At this age, there was no need for subtlety.

She fired off the classic three questions of a blind date.

"Education doesn't define a person, does it?"

"Oh? So you didn't finish middle school either?"

"Well, I at least graduated."

Without hesitation, he sold out Gao Hu.

The friend wasn't letting up.

"If education doesn't matter, then tell me—what do you do in Beijing?"

"Just run a couple of small companies, own five or six properties, and make a modest annual income."

Chen Pingsheng casually placed his Aston Martin key on the table.

He couldn't stand people looking down on him for his lack of formal education.

So what if he only graduated middle school? Did he eat their rice?

And so what if they had higher degrees? Did they have more money than him?

The friend was stunned. Even the main girl glanced at him with new interest.

"Apologies, I was a bit blunt earlier. I just didn't want my friend to end up with the wrong person."

"No worries. I was just joking too."

The awkward tension dissipated.

Just then, Gao Hu finally returned—still drying his hands like an oaf.

The moment he sat down, he realized something was off.

Instead of focusing on him, the two women were subtly probing about his friend.

Were they here for him or for his friend?

Once they found out he neither worked in Beijing nor owned a house here, they stopped pretending altogether.

Women past twenty-five really had no time for illusions.

Gao Hu was furious.

Outside, he turned to Chen Pingsheng. "What the hell happened in there?"

Chen Pingsheng told him the truth. If he hadn't handled it, those women would've said even worse things.

Gao Hu wasn't too disappointed—it was clear they weren't on the same wavelength.

It wasn't that they looked down on uneducated men.

They looked down on uneducated men who didn't own property in Beijing.

"Old Chen, if I really shut down my businesses in Shacheng and come work with you, I'd be depending on you entirely."

In the end, Gao Hu made up his mind.

Chen Pingsheng grinned. "Don't worry. I won't let you down."

"Beijing is too fast-paced, too materialistic. Life in Shacheng is much slower—at least people there don't judge you based on real estate."

"Quit complaining. If you wanted to buy property, you could do it in a heartbeat."

Back at Tengying Entertainment in the Second Ring, Gao Hu didn't stay in Beijing for long.

He still had to return to handle his businesses in Shacheng before making the move.

Fortunately, both of his stores were doing well.

Selling them wouldn't be a problem—there were plenty of buyers.

Meanwhile, Chen Pingsheng didn't sit idle.

He started researching the current restaurant market.

The food industry was a traditional sector. No matter how much the internet disrupted things, it would never be obsolete.

Right now, the most famous hot pot chain was undoubtedly Haidilao.

Their reputation? Built purely on extreme customer service.

In business, if you can perfect one aspect, you'll rise to the top.

If he was going to enter the industry, he had to learn from the best.

But his approach would be different from just running a fruit supermarket.

This time, he wanted to integrate dining with the capital market.

From the outset, he would follow the IPO model.

With his management experience and network, he wanted to see if he could make it work.

If he succeeded, he wouldn't just own a business.

He'd carve out an empire in traditional industries.

The key difference between capital markets and traditional business?

Traditional businesses grow slowly, expanding bit by bit over years, sometimes decades.

But in capital markets, it's different.

You fund a single location.

Once it's profitable, you analyze and replicate the model.

Then, using investor money, you rapidly scale through A, B, C, and D funding rounds.

No need to rely on store profits to expand—just use capital to accelerate.

Once he took it public, his personal income would be in the billions.

Starting at ten billion.

And if he added a lucky multiplier—say, twelve times?

That would be a give-me-a-lever-and-I'll-move-the-earth moment.

He wasn't interested in small games anymore.

The real game?

Capital.

Go big or go home.

He could already see it—his mark on Beijing's business world.

And Tengsheng Group?

It was destined to be the flagbearer of traditional industries.

If he could replicate a successful hot pot chain, he could apply the model to everything.

This was a truly thrilling game of chess.